The Wisconsin Badgers and Michigan State Spartans meet up later today in the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game. The contest is scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on CBS. Currently the College Basketball Betting Odds for the game have Wisconsin favored by a couple of possessions to win the automatic bid for the Big Ten. 

Wisconsin is chasing down a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and a victory today over the Spartans should put them in that discussion. Today the Badgers look to head into the NCAA Tournament as winners of the Big Ten regular season and tournament title, which is a strong case for that top-seeded line. 

The Badgers haven't won a Big Ten Tournament title since 2008. Michigan State won the tournament last year.

Today also matches up a pair of great coaches as Bo Ryan and Tom Izzo battle it out for the automatic bid. This will be the 28th time Ryan and Izzo have met on the court, but it's the first time they're playing each other in the Big Ten Tournament Finals.

Two of the elder statesmen in the conference, Izzo and Ryan seem like the perfect pairing for a conference tournament title game. Both have hall of fame resumes, get the most out of their players and always have great teams. They also find a way to consistently win this time of year.

Frank Kaminsky is considered by many to be the national player of the year and he's already won the Big Ten crown for that award. Kaminsky has really played well against Michigan State the last two matchups, scoring 59 combined points in a win this year but a loss last season in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament. Michigan State will once again have to find a way to slow Kaminsky down, even though he has not had big games this year in the conference tournament.

Michigan State looked great the final 30 minutes of the game against Maryland in yesterday's semifinal, getting solid games from their big three in Denzel Valentine, Travis Trice and Branden Dawson who combined to score 40 points, hand out 11 assists and snag 15 rebounds. 

When it comes to defense in this one, Wisconsin has an edge. Their pressure defense is very good and they force teams to play uncomfortably in the half court. Another thing that makes Wisconsin so good is they don't turn the basketball over and they don't foul anybody. The discipline for the Badgers is just too good and it's why they're going to make another run to the Final Four.

Today, they beat Michigan State by slowing the game down, winning in the half-court and sticking to their game.

Free Pick: Wisconsin 66, Michigan State 56

 NCAA Basketball: Who Can Win it All?

Teddy Covers and Steve Fezzik from Pregame.com discuss who they feel will win it all in the NCAA Tournament, while throwing in some teams that have a chance to make a deep run in the tournament.

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